


no place safer

by writingramblr



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks
Genre: Angst, Credence Barebone Needs a Hug, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Eventual Romance, Family Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Mashup, Original Percival Graves is a Softie, Past Abuse, Protective Tina Goldstein, Safe Haven, jacob kowalski is wonderful
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 11:10:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12057759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingramblr/pseuds/writingramblr
Summary: Credence Grindelwald is on the run from people in his past, and as such, must live a double life and try to restore some sense of peace and balance to his life.Percy Graves is a single father going on four years now, hoping against hope every summer will be easier to ignore the pain, but so far, it’s the same old daily drudge.When Credence first meets Percy, he’s withdrawn and shy, scared to do more than give a false name and find someplace small of his own to make it through the night in.





	no place safer

**Author's Note:**

> this was written and done like over a week ago but i was really waffling about posting it and still am. but i couldnt not post it in the end. certain people deserve to read it and theres no point hoarding it when its just ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ one of those things.   
> im not really writing and wont be for a while, but this and one other thing that had already been done will be going up soon. if anyone still cares, here it is.

The dark was comforting as he ran. No clear destination, just far. As far away as he could. The bus smelled a bit strange but anything was better than smoke and never ending threats.

Credence removed his hat when he got three states away. Along with his bag and raggedy shoes, he knew he looked out of place. The bundle of ten thousand dollars inside it won't probably last him long, but it would help. 

He could still smell the stale vodka that always lingered on his husband’s breath, ex-husband, he helpfully reminded himself, now that he’d finally gone and done it and left, there was effectively nothing of their sham marriage left. He’d been stolen from one monster and chained to another. There was no point trying to sugar coat it. 

Credence had just escaped hell. His cheek was still sore and the bones in his shoulder and left arm ached as he leaned into the window and tried to sleep. When the bus finally came to a proper stop, the end of the line, he had to decide if he wanted to keep going, keep running, or find a place to stay for the night.

He walked around the small town on the edge of a boat harbor for a few moments, spotting a general store on the water side, a lively fish restaurant a few blocks down, and then further, with an illuminated sign and softly painted exterior, a bed and breakfast.

It would probably be obscenely expensive, but Credence was desperate. When was the last time he’d slept through the night, much less had a room all to himself? 

It pained him to be unable to remember clearly that it had been so many long years. The lady behind the counter, Tina according to her nametag, didn’t understand why he was crying, but she didn’t ask too many questions either. He counted out the proper amount of money, all big bills, and ducked his head as she gave him change, and then pointed to the hallway with the rooms. 

He had a bag with far too much money for one normal person in it, and exactly one change of clothing. He got into the room and closed the door, locking it securely, before kicking off his shoes and stripping down, shivering as he walked to the bathroom and climbed into the shower, turning it as hot as it could go. 

He’d been able to sneak a moment at the nice old lady’s house to fix his hair and borrow a jacket he could never return, but it hadn’t been time enough to properly cleanse himself from the lingering after effects of the last beating he’d had before leaving. 

The hot water soothed over his bruises and made the cuts and broken skin sting, but he relished the pain. That was pain he could control, could choose to feel and let go of. He dried off and then slipped under the sheets without bothering to pull his road dusty clothing back on, nor did he want to put something new on to wrinkle while he slept. He warmed up quickly with the heavy blankets over him, and fell into an exhausted sleep quickly enough.

When he emerged the next morning from the room, leaving it neat and tidy as could be, he still wasn’t sure he wanted to move on just yet, so he paused at the desk, gave the lady, Miss Tina, a shaky sort of smile before asking, 

“Do you happen to know of someplace I could find work? Just for the summer of course.” He figured it was the best way to be noncommittal and still sound plausible.

Miss Tina blinked over the roster at him, matching his smile with one of her own,

“Why, I think Jake Kowalski’s fish place is hiring. Do you have any experience waiting tables?”

Credence hated to lie, but how hard could it be, learning to carry food and drink, taking care of someone, but the difference between his ex and the restaurant customers was that at least he’d be getting money instead of bruises. 

“Alright then, just head on over, and be sure to let Jake know you’re an excellent guest. No noise complaints.” With a wink, she turned back to her work, and Credence walked out of the bed and breakfast feeling lighter than air.

 

Jake, the owner of the restaurant was more than a good sport, he was probably the nicest man Credence had ever known besides one parishioner from an old church who’d snuck him five dollars so he could buy himself an oven warmed baked good. Within a few hours Credence was waiting on one table all alone, and not having a bad time of it at all. The other waiters were polite, if a little distant, considering he was brand new, and a total stranger. By the time it was the end of the lunch rush, Credence had made almost fifty dollars. 

He could scarcely believe it. 

“I guess… you’re hired, kid. Welcome to Newport. Where are you staying? Do you have family in town?” Credence shook his head, and made up a lie that sounded decent. 

“I’m starting school in the fall, and just wanted to strike out on my own for a bit. Is there uh, a long term place I could rent, maybe a motel? The bed and breakfast is nice, but I can’t stay there again, inside my budget.”

Jake laughed, “Tina’s wonderful though ain’t she? Now if I recall, there’s a smaller cabin down the road, still part of the Goldstein’s property, but it’s just under construction still. Depending on how good you are with your uh, maintenance skills, she might let you stay there for pretty cheap.”

Credence had little to no home repair skills even if he did know his way around a kitchen, but he thought that maybe a hammer and nails he could handle, leaky roof, he could live with. 

Broken floorboards though? Not ideal. 

Credence discovered them the second day he was there, and almost screamed when he was suddenly falling on the way into the kitchen. A hammer and nails  _ could _ help with that, he supposed. 

Once he got the wood to repair the rotten floor, he realized that now he needed a way to cover up the different tones in wood. What if Miss Tina saw and thought he’d hidden something under the cabin, like he was some sort of drug dealer with a secret stash? He couldn’t have that. 

After a couple weeks, he’d started to save up more money than he was spending on food or tools to fix broken things or worn down bits in the cabin. 

When he had an afternoon off, he walked over to the general store which he’d only ever been inside of once or twice. Most of his shopping was done in the drug store, as they had plenty of essentials along with medicine if he needed it. He trailed around the whole place before ending back up at the front counter, behind which a little blond girl was coloring. 

“Excuse me, do you happen to know a place I could get some paint, or uh, woodstain?” 

He was just guessing at that point, considering the store had nearly everything else that could be used in home repair, when the girl looked up and smiled at him, he noticed she was missing a front tooth. It made her oddly charming, but then again, Credence had always gotten along with the kid’s in the church. It helped when they saw him every week as he served soup for the orphans. “Whatcha gonna paint?”

Credence leaned over the counter on his elbows, chin in hand, 

“Well, I was looking for a way to make the floor an even color.”

“Is it uneven?” Credence blinked, come to think of it, the floor being tilted could be a much more worrisome thing, so he was lucky it was merely the wood tone. 

“It is… a little. I keep rolling out of my bed.” He added in a hushed voice, and the girl giggled, 

“How will painting the floor help?”

Credence was at a loss, but was luckily saved by the appearance of the store owner, who stepped around the counter and ruffled the blonde girl’s hair, before directing his attention to Credence. “Who’s this Modesty, making new friends with the new guy in town?”

Credence straightened up and came face to face with a man so good looking it almost made his jaw drop in reality, but most certainly in his mind loud bells were clanging and his heartbeat pounded in his ears. 

God, why couldn’t he just be normal for once? Did he have to catch a crush on someone highly out of his league, not to mention, he wasn’t even divorced yet?

“Uh, yes?” His voice was a squeak. Credence wondered if Jake or Tina had talked about him. 

The man grinned easily, and then spoke again,

“How can I help you? I’m afraid this little lady doesn’t have much experience with legal tender.”

Credence swallowed a few times and then tried to speak again, but the girl beat him to it. 

“He wants to know if we have any paint. Do we sell paint?”

The man hummed to himself, and when the girl set her crayons down he scooped her into his arms and she hugged him. Credence was touched by the display, and mildly jealous. 

He couldn’t even remember his own father, much less if his mother had ever once treated him with such kindness.

“I think we could order it. If you don’t mind waiting a couple days, for it to ship in from the city.”

Credence found himself nodding, and then the man was reaching down behind the counter to grab something, what turned out to be a color catalogue, which splayed onto the table with an alarming amount of shades to choose from.

“Pick whichever you like, and you can pay for it when you pick it up.” Credence gulped, then pointed to a bright yellow, and the girl beamed at him. “That’s pretty! That’ll look nice.”

Credence couldn’t help smiling back at her, and he knew his cheeks were growing hot due to the man’s eyes on him. “Okay. How much is it?” 

The man frowned at the printed numbers, and then looked up to him,

“How big of a stretch were you looking to paint?”

“Maybe two square feet?” Credence could see using any leftover paint on other parts of the floor, if necessary.

“Half gallon probably oughta do it.”

“Great. Do you need my name?” The man set his little girl down gently and then snagged a pen and small notepad from beside the cash register, 

“Yes please. Also, is there a good phone number for you too? So we can let you know when it gets in?” 

Credence worried his bottom lip, before shaking his head,

“I’ll just come back by. It’s Credence, Credence Taylor.” The man wrote that down, and then glanced back up to him, “I’m Percy Graves, of Graves General… naturally. This is Modesty. Forgive us for being so rude. You work at Kowalski’s don’t you?” 

Credence nodded, and Modesty chirped, “We love their fried fish. We’ll have to come visit you someday.” Credence found himself relaxing a touch, “That would be nice. Thank you.” 

He got half a dozen blocks down the road when he heard someone calling after him, and he turned to find the man from the store, Percy, trailing him. Instead of his usual paranoia, he was oddly charmed. 

“Yes? Did I forget something for the order?” Percy shook his head, mildly out of breath, he’d clearly been running. 

“I just wanted to say I could drive you home, since you obviously don’t have a car… I know you’ve been staying in Tina’s extra cabin… but here I am, practically walking you home.” Credence bit his lip and stopped walking, he didn’t really want the man to see exactly where he lived, just in case, even if he already knew, in a way, he liked having  _ some _ semblance of privacy. 

“Thank you, but I’m okay.” He smiled to let the man know he wasn’t declining him impolitely, just out of need for space. Percy backed away almost at once, and nodded,

“Sorry, yeah. I just… uh, god, I’m out of practice. Well, like Mo said, I bet we’ll see you at Jake’s.”

Credence hummed, “Highly likely.” He continued the rest of the journey to his temporary home in silence, before he stopped short at the sight of someone on his front porch. The shock wore off when he realized the blond hair was golden, not white, and it was most definitely a woman, clad in a bubblegum pink and red trimmed dress. Certainly in no way could she be dangerous, or sent by his ex husband. Credence still approached with caution, 

“Can I help you?”

The woman turned around and smiled at him with an almost bounce to her curls, framing a very kind and lovely face. “Hey there, sugar. Sorry, I realize this looks bad… I promise I don’t mean any harm. I just get nosy. Wondered who my new neighbor was.”

Credence frowned, and then looked around the woods. Was there another cabin out here he’d not been informed about? He’d been there almost three weeks and yet to see another soul outside of the forest.

He opened his mouth, and the woman answered the question for him, as if she’d read his mind. “I live in the trailer park down the way, the other side of the woods. I’m still your closest neighbor though. Nice to meetcha. I’m Queenie G. What’s your name?”

Credence stepped closer, swallowing his original fear, and extended a hand shakily, “Credence… T. Nice to meet you as well.” He waited a moment, but the woman, Queenie, just beamed wider, and then slipped past him, “Lovely. I’ve forgotten myself, left some cookies in the oven and I’ll not be responsible for burning the house down, please excuse me. We should chat sometime though, have coffee one morning. By the way, welcome to Newport.”


End file.
